A lot of car enthusiasts are getting their kicks out of Forza Motorsport 5, appreciating the hard work Turn 10 Studios put into its critically acclaimed title. How hard? The developers replicated some of the world’s greatest race courses.
Case in point – the Bathurst track in Australia is one of the toughest courses in the game, with a mixture with wide-open yet narrow roads and sharp turns that could easily end your run in a spin-out. Don’t let that prevent you from hitting the road. You’ll master it in no time with a bit of help.
When you first begin the race, you’re going to come upon an immediate hairpin turn to the left. Don’t go too crazy on the gas, but make sure you get out of the gate with a sensible amount of speed. As your opponents lean into the turn, see where they’re positioned and try to get around them. This should allow you to move up a couple of places.
From there, you’ll run into a stretch of open road. Don’t let this fool you. It’ll give you an opportunity to achieve a good top speed, but there’s a really nasty right turn at the end. Go too fast and you’ll end up crashing. Moderate your speed with the arrows that appear on the road – if you’ve got driving aids turned on – and prepare for it.
Better yet, see when your opponents slow down. That’ll give you an indication of how slow they’re going into the turn, and allow you to prepare for a chance to pass a couple more cars.
After you complete the right turn, two more will come up. The first one you can handle at a very good speed, but the second you’ll need to brake. Use both as an opportunity to move up a couple more spots.
From there, the challenge picks up on the Bathurst track. The road narrows and doesn’t give you too much opportunity to pass on the outside. With this, your best bet is to keep up a good pace, and with the turns, look for the open spot to get by.
On one of the upcoming turns, you’ll see a wide open shot at a pass-by, but you’ll also come across a field. Driving on this will slow down your pace a little, and if you’re in the middle of a turn, may cause you to spin out. Approach with caution and try to stay on the gravel as much as you can, so you keep up both speed and precision. If you make a mistake, you can use the rewind feature to go back and try again, though you’ll forfeit a small amount of your winnings. Sometimes, getting the tempo right for the first place victory is more important. Don’t forget you can restart the race as well, if you screw up too much.
Another obstacle you’ll want to watch for is the tire wall. There are a few of these littered along the left side as you race around a corner. DO NOT HIT THEM. Doing this will bring you to an immediate halt, and allow others to pass by. Moderate your speed well enough so you steer clear of them without sacrificing pace.
This narrow, twisty road is the trickiest part of the Bathurst course, so it’s important to pay attention to arrows and the other vehicles. You will find your opportunities to pass if you’re patient, but don’t get incredibly greedy. Remember, you got two laps to get the lead, so if you have to sacrifice a bit to eventually climb into first place, it’s no big deal.
Once you come out of the turn-filled terrain, you’ll be back on a straightaway for a little while, but come upon a quick left turn, which you can handle with ease with a lift off the accelerator and slight – don’t go overboard – braking. From there, it should be another stretch of road to keep up your speed, but there’s a box-shaped turn coming up at the end before you reach the lap marker. Calmly repeat the same speed procedure with other turns and then gun it for the finish.
Bathurst takes a while to learn – and master – so don’t be afraid to try it a few times and use rewind a little bit. You can always go back and try again. Still, for Forza fans, this is one of the more elite tracks in the game, and we can see why Turn 10 pushed so hard to include it.
Forza Motorsport 5 is available now for Xbox One.
